Pesto pasta with chicken and sundried tomatoes

This dish has become a favorite to make of mine. I love pesto, so fresh and somewhat healthy. And I love sundried tomatoes. But my favoite part has to be the toasted pine nuts. For some reason they just really make the dish for me. I've eaten it without them, and it just wasn't the same. It makes a lot, so it'll feed us for a couple days. Maxon even loves it!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta 1 teaspoon olive oil (or oil from sun-dried tomatoes) 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips 1 cup pesto sauce (store bought, or recipe follows) Parmesan cheese ½ cup pine nuts

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2.	Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, then stir in chicken. Cook until chicken is golden, and cooked through.
3.	In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto. Toss to coat evenly. Toast pine nuts (400 degrees for a few minutes until golden brown) Sprinkle parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts on top. Pesto Sauce INGREDIENTS: ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 cup fresh basil leaves ½ tsp salt 2 cloves garlic ½ cup toasted pine nuts ½ cup parmesan cheese Blend all together in a blender or food processor. Makes about 1 cup.